Telegraph sending-machine.



J. A. HULIT.

TELEGRAPH SBNDING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED Nov. e, 1909.

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J. A. HULIT.

TBLBGRAPH SENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1909.

1,017,054 Petentea Feb. 13,1912.

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TELEGRAPH SENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1909. Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

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TINTTED STATES PATENT FFTQF.

JOI-IN A. HULIT, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO THE HULIT TRANSMITTERCOM- PANY, OF TOPEKA, KANS-AS, A CORPORATION OF KANSAS.

TELEGRAPH SENDINGr-MACHINE.

To all whom "it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN A. HULIT, a citizen of the United States,residing in Topeka,in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Telegraph SendingsMachines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic and semi-automatic sending machines ortelegraph keys.

The object of my invent-ion is to improve generally upon machines ofthis kind; to provide a circuit-closer operated by an intermittent motorand so arranged as to make a succession of similar characters andcontrolled in such a way that the motor power is expended only whilesuch characters are being transmitted; to provide a spring motor and acircuit closer with ameans for controlling the motor and circuit closerin such a way that the motor runs only while the circuit-closer is beingoperated.; and to provide the several parts, improvements, andcombinations hereinafter set forth.

My invention consists principally of a circuit-closer, a spring motorfor driving the circuit-closer, and a mechanism for controlling thespring motor and the circuitcloser in such a way that the motor runs andeXpends its energy only while the circuit is being opened and closed, sothat there will be no loss of motor power, especially so as to avoid theuse of the constantly running motor which has heretofore been used onkey-board sending machines. And my invention further consists of theparts, improvements, and combinations hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification andin the description of the drawings, I have shown my invention in itspreferred form and have shown what I deem to be the best mode ofapplying the principles thereof; but it is to be understood that theinvention itself is not confined to the exact details of the drawingsand the description of the drawings, that parts and combinations thereofspecifically claimed may be used with or without other connecting parts,or devices of similar general nature; and that I contemplate changes inform, proportions, and materials, the transposition of parts, and thesubstitution of equivalent members,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led November 6, 1909.

Patented Feb. i3, 1912.

Serial No. 526,516.

within the scope of the Lappended claims, without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of a telegraph sendingmachine made in accordance with the principles o-f my invention, on aplane indicated substantially by the line 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a planview, certain parts of the frame being broken away to disclose themechanism. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation corresponding with Fig. l,but with most of the parts not shown, and being intended to showespecially the retarding device. Fig. 4E is a view of the bottom of themachine. Fig. 5 is a cross sectional elevation, most of the parts beingremoved, and being intended to show one of the controlling levers andfinger-keys, and the manner of mounting same. Figs. G and 7 show theaction of the controlling levers and the circuit-closer and intermediateconnecting mechanism; Fig. 6 showing how the motor is stopped with thecircuit closer in closed position, and Fig. 7 showing the action whenthe motor is driving the circuit-closer in the making of a succession ofdots. Fig. 8 is a section of the base and part of the switch mountedthereon. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the entire machine.

Similar reference numerals indicate like o-r corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

10 is the base, made preferably of cast iron and enameled, and havingthe sides 11, and also a depression 12 into which may be let down thelower part of the spring motor, as seen clearlyvin Fig. l. On the underside of the base are four rubber feet 13.

14, 14 arethe side plates.

15, 15 are the end plates, and 16 is the top plate of the frame, securedtogether by means of suitable spacers 17, 17, and set upon the base 10above the depression 12, as shown. The end and top plates are slidesfitting in grooves 19 in the side plates, the top plate overlapping theend plates so as to lock them firmly in place. These parts are heldtogether by means of the screws is, 1e.

Set between the side plates is a spring motor comprising the main-spring20, shaft 21, ratchet 22, pawl 23, and the train of gears indicated bythe numerals 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 3l, and 32; the numeral 32indicating the last arbor in the train and hereinafter referred to asthe cam shaft the object of the spring motor being to rotate saidcam-shaft in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7. The motormay be wound by hand by means of the winding key 21.

Secured to the cam-shaft is a double-cam, the ends of whichA are bluntbeing arcs with a radius extending from the center of the cam-shaft.

34 is an arbor extending between the side plates, and 35 is the contactlever mounted on this arbor.

36 is an anti-friction roller mounted in one end of the contact lever soas to bear against the cam; in the other end of the contact lever, whichis L-shaped, is one member of the contact points 37, the other of saidpointsbeing mounted on the upper end of a stationary contact spring 38,which is secured to a block of insulation 39 by means of a screw 40. Theblock of insulation, preferably fiber or hard rubber is located in thebottom of the depression in the base and directly across an opening 43,and is secured to the base by means of two screws 41, 41. Secured to theunder side of said fiber or hard rubber block 39, by means of said screw40, which is obviously threaded through the strip 44, is said strip 44,mounted, as indicated, so as to be insulated from the base and frame andelectrically connected with the stationary contact spring 38 through thescrew 40. Secured to said bar 44, by means of a screw 46, is one part 47of the double cord, the other part 49 of which is grounded to the frameby means of the screw 50. And these cords are extended a suitable lengthout through a hard rubber bushing 48 in the rear of the frame, andprovided with a wedge or split plug 479, whereby the machine may easilybe electrically connected with the telegraph circuit.

51 is a pin or rod secured to the spacer 17 adjacent to the contacts; 52is a pin or rod secured to the hub of the contact lever; and 53 is aspring extended between the ends of said two rods or pins and tendingnaturally to close the contacts 37 and to compress the anti-frictionroller 36 against the cam.

54 is a set-screw insulated at its inner end 56 and being adapted tomove the stationary contact spring 38 toward the contact; that is, thestationary spring 38 tends naturally to force its contact member awayfrom the other member, to the right in Fig. 1, while the screw 54 forcesit in an opposite direction, so that by turning the screw 54 in or outthe contact may be adjusted. 55 is a binding nut for the screw.

It will now be understood that, assuming the machine to be electricallyconnected with a telegraph circuit, the operation of the spring motorrotating the cam-shaft,- will raise and lower the anti-friction rollerend of the contact lever, the spring 53 pulling the lever down at thelow places of the cam, and the rotation of the cam raising the leveragainst the tension of the spring at the high places. By adjusting thestationary contact so that the contacts engage when the anti-frictionroller is at a low place, it will be understood that the circuit will beclosed when the cam is in position with a low place under the A roller,and open when the cam is in position with a high place under the roller.By screwing the adjusting screw in farther, the contact will be madebefore the roller strikes the lowest places of the cam, so that thecontact will thus be made with the full force of the spring 53; also byturning the adjusting screw in or out, the relative lengths of thecontacts and of the spaces therebetween may be regulated. Thisregulation is important in telegraphy in order to adjust the machine toany circuit and to make the characters light or heavy, as may bedesired. Preferably the rods or pins 52 and 51 are made of material thatcan be bent, so that the tension of the spring 53 may be adjusted.

58, 58 are two stop-pins secured in the cam-shaft and oppositelydisposed, one corresponding to each point of the cam and beingapproximately on a line with the rear end of the blunt cam point, asindicated in Figs. 1, 6, and 7.

59 is an arbor mounted in and extending between the side plates andhaving mounted thereon a dog 60 and a stop pin 61, said stop pinengaging against another shaft or arbor 62 mounted in and between theside plates. A spring 63 tends naturally to hold the arbor 59 with thepin 61 against the arbor 62, and the dog 60 in the path of the stop pins58, so that in such position, the dog stops the motor with theanti-friction roller 36 resting on the end of one of the cams so thatthe circuit will be open. 65 is a pin secured to said shaft 59 andextending downward and in the path of a controlling lever comprising thearm 66, which extends through a hole 67 in the side plate, the pivot rod68 which is set between the base and the inclosing box-like bearing 69,and the arm 70 with the finger-piece 71. The inner end of the arm 66 isflattened as shown at 78.

72 is a spring extending between the arm 70 and the hooked adjustingscrew 73 which is threaded through a post 74 secured to the base.

75 is an adjustable back-stop screw threaded through a post 76 securedto the base.

The spring 72 tends naturally to hold the controlling lever against theback stop, while the bumper-post 77 limits the movement of said leverforward.

The various parts just referred to are so arranged that when thecontrolling lever is in normal position against the back stop, the dogis in engagement with one of the stop-pins 58, as shown in Figs. 1, 2;and when the controlling lever is moved against the bumper-post 77, thearm 66 strikes against the rod 65 and raises the dog 60 so as to freethe stop-pin 58 therefrom and permit the motor to turn the cam-shaft,and at the same time the flattened end 78 of the arm 66 comes into thepath of said stop-pin 58, and the motor is stopped with the stoppinrest-ing against the end of the arm 66. In this position of thecam-shaft, the antifriction roller is over one of the low places of thecam with the circuit closed. This position is indicated in Fig. 6. If,now, the finger-key 71 be released so that the springs restore theseveral parts to their normal positions, the motor will drive thecam-shaft another quarter turn and restore the circuitcloser to itsnormal position with the circuit open, the cam-shaft having, in theoperation of closing and opening the circuit, made a one-half rotation.The dog 60 and the dog comprising the flattened end 78 of thecontrolling` lever are located about ninety degrees apart with relationto the stop-pins 58, so that the stop with the closed circuit is made atthe quarter turn, and the stop with the open circuit is made at the halfturn. If the finger-key 71 be given a short sharp stroke, the dogs willbe restored to their normal positions withouthaving detained thestop-pin at the quarter turn, thus permitting the motor to rotate thecam-shaft a half t-urn. Thus a dot may be made by such a short stroke,and a dash may be made by holding the key in pressedin posit-ion for theproper length of time. It will be understood, too, that this mechanismmay be used for transmitting Morse characters by the manipulation of thefinger-piece 71 alone; every character being sent over the wire withmechanically uniform pressure at the contacts 37, without thepossibility of a split or imperfect dot or space, 'and without the hardpressure usually required of the operator o-n the ordinary desk key. Hemay adjust the finger tension by the screw 7 3 to secure any desiredtouch, without changing the character on the wire. I prefer however touse the key 71 for making dashes only and to provide another key formaking the dots, by simply lifting the dog 60 without operating the dog78, so that by a quick stroke on the dot key a single dot will be made,and by holding the dot key in pressed-in posit-ion for the proper lengthof time any desired number of dots may be made in succession, as will benow explained.

69 is an arm secured to the shaft 62 and engaging the tail of the dog60.

is a pin or rod secured to the shaft 62 and extending down and in thepath of the dot-controlling lever comprising the arm 79, pivot rod 80,and arm 81 with fingerpiece 82. The dot-controlling lever is mountedsimilarly to the dash-controlling lever, but adapted -to just oppositeaction and normal position; that is, they are arranged adjacent to eachother so as to be operable by the thumb and forefinger of the telegraphoperator by pressing them toward each other, the dot lever beingprovided with the tension spring 88, adjusting screw 84 in post 85, andthe back-stop screw 86 in post 87, and being adapted to be pressedagainst the bumper-post 77. In normal position, the dot lever does notaffect the dog 60, and when the linger-key 82 is pressed in against thebumper post, the arm 79 strikes against the rod 70, rocks the shaft 62so as to move the arm 69 down which lifts the dog 60 out of the path ofthe stoppin 58. A quick stroke and release of the key 82 permits themachine to make a single dot; and a series of dots as for the letters s,71., and 79, and for any letters or combinations having more than onedot in succession, may be made by holding the key 82 in pressed inposition for the requisite length of time. By this means it will be seenthat not only will the dots and the spaces therebetween be of uniformlength, but that also the spaces between a dot and a following dash, orbetween a dash and a following dot, or between succeeding dashes, willbe uniform; that is, an operator may make as long a dash or space as hemay desire, but he cannot make a shorter dot or space than thatautomatically made by the machine; he cannot make a split character.

The dogs 60 and 78 may be so adjusted that a slight pressure on the key71 will release dog 60` without bringing dog 78 into the path of thestop-pins, and a further pressure of the key 71 will bring dog 78 intosuch path; a releasing of the key stopping the machine in normalposition; thus making it possible to make both dots and dashes with thesame key. But I prefer the other adjustments above explained, in whichthe two dogs are adjusted to act simultaneously, so that whether the key71 be pressed in or released, the cam shaft can make only the quarterturn for each movement.

The object of the special form of box-like bearing 69 is to provide forextending the operating levers from inside to the outside of the frameand to cover the holes 67, so that the frame may be practicallydustproof.

90 is a four-pointed star-wheel secured to the cam-shaft.

91 is a shaft or arbor mounted in and between the side plates.

92 is a yoke mounted on the shaft 91, and

,having a pin 93 in the end of each arm and extending in lthe path ofthe star-wheel points so as to be engaged thereby alternately in themanner of a clock escapement. 94 is a slotted tail to said yoke, inwhich slot works an anti-friction roller 95 secured to a weight or arm96 which is pivoted to a long lever 97, which is pivoted to the frontside plate at 98.

99 is a spring tending naturally to hold the lever 97 down against thestop pin 103 in the front side plate.

100 is an adjusting screw threaded through a boss in the end plate andprovided with a head 101 on the-outside of the frame, by which the lever97 may be raised until it comes to the stop-pin 102 in the front sideplate. This mechanism comprises a retarder to slow down the motor to apractical speed. Obviously by raising or lowering the lever 97, weightor arm 96 with roller 95, the speed will be increased or diminished byreason of the less or greater travel of the roller 95 and weight 96 incoming nearer to or farther away from the shaft 91. Inasmuch as the pins93 of the yoke may be so arranged as to have considerable free travel, Iprovide a means for adjusting this travel, in the adjusting screw 106which is threaded through the block 105 secured to the front plate bymeans of screw 104. By screwing this screw 106 in, the range of movementof the yoke will be lessened; but by screwing it out, the range oftravel will be increased so as to slow the machine down. This method ofadjustment is desirable because, if it is found that the range of speedadjustment is such that with lever 97 against pin 102 the speed is notfast enough, the speed may be increased by screwing in screw 106; or aslower speed may be secured than with lever 97 against 103 by screwingout the screw 106.

Extending through an opening in the front part of the base is a block ofinsulation 39 on top of which is mounted a metal strip 107 held in placeby a screw 40 which passes through said strip and said block and isthreaded into the bar 44. 108 is a shield of insulating material,preferably hard rubber, to cover said strip 107 and the parts are heldto the base by the screw 109, which is threaded in the block 39.

110 is a switch tongue provided with a handle 112 and pivoted andgrounded to thebase by the screw 111. It will be noted that this switchis located so as to be easily operated by the operator, with slightmovement of the hand, and yet is effectually insulated, so that theoperator cannot be shocked. The shield is not shown in Fig. 9.

The relative positions of the stop-pins, the cam, and the star-wheelpoints on the cam shaft are of importance. Thus it will be noted thatthe star-wheel points and the stop-pins are so arranged that thecam-shaft will have considerable travel, after being released fromeither the hand or the quarter turn, before the points encounter theyoke; thus permitting the motor to travel initially without retardationon being released from either position; also the cam is so arranged thatthe circuit will be closed instantly and before the retarder isencountered; also on coming from the closed to the open circuit at theend of the dash, the circuit will be opened before the motor encountersthe retarding element. This important arrangement prevents any laggingor hesitancy, and is important in the manual sending of Morsecharacters. It permits the full force of the machine to be exerted,without retardation, on the circuit-closer, the response beinginstantaneous on the touch on the key, and the retarding being effectedafter the circuit has been closed or opened, as the case may be.

In a co-pending application Serial No. 451,487, filed September 3, 1908,I have shown and claimed some features herein shown but not claimed.

Vhat I claim is:

1. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a base havinga top and sides with a depression in the top, a frame erected on thebase over the depression, a motor mounted in the baseand extending downinto the depression, a circuit-closer mounted in the frame and operatedby the motor, finger-keys for controlling the motor and circuit closer,a switch mounted on the base and having a tongue and a leaf, said leafbeing insulated from the base, and said base having an opening in saiddepression and an opening under said leaf, insulating mountings at saidopenings, one of the members of the circuit-closer being mounted at saidopening in the depression, and a bar extending between said mountingsand being electrically connected with said leaf and said member.

9. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a base havinga depression in the top thereof, a frameerected on the base over thedepression, a motor mounted in the frame and extending down in saiddepression, a circuit closer driven by the motor and mounted in theframe, a switch mounted on the base outside said frame, the base havingan opening thro-ugh said depression and an opening at the switch,insulating blocks mounted on the base at said openings, one member ofthe circuit-closer being mounted on the insulating block over theopening in the depression and one member of the switch being mounted onthe other insulating block, a bar extending across said blocks undersaid base, and electrical conductors extending through said blocks andconnecting the bar with said respective members.

3. In a machine of the kind described,

the combination of a frame, a motor mounted therein, a circuit-closeroperated by the motor, a reciprocating pivoted Weight for retarding themotor, a lever for shifting the Weight nearer to and fart-her away fromthe pivot from Which it is operated, and an adjusting screw having itshead outside the frame for shifting the lever.

t. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a frame, amotor mounted therein, a circuit-closer operated by the motor, anescapement device having a reciprocating tail, a Weight having apin-andslot connection With said tail said slot eX- tending radiallyfrom the pivot of said escapement device, a pivoted lever to which saidWeight is pivoted and being capable of shifting said Weight nearer toand farther away from said pivot, a spring tending` naturally to forcesaid lever in one direction, and a screw capable of forcing said leverin the opposite direction.

5. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a frame, amotor mounted in the frame, a circuit-closer operated by the motor, anescapement device for retarding the motor and comprising a star- Wheeland a yoke engaging the star-Wheel and oscillated thereby said yokebeing piv oted in the frame, a bumper-screwT arranged so that the yokestrikes against the end thereof, and said screw being capable ofadjustment to limit the range of movement of the yoke so as to increaseand diminish the speed of the motor.

6. In combination, a frame, an intermittent spring motor, acircuit-closer actuated by the motor, manually controlled devices forreleasing and stopping the motor, and so arranged as to stop the motorWith the circuit closed and to stop the motor With the circuit open; anda retarding device for the motor having an oscillating member operatedthereby, and an adjusting screw against which said oscillating memberstrikes at one end of its oscillations; the oscillating member restingnormally against said adjusting screvv when the motor is 'stopped Withthe circuit-closer in each of its positions, and the circuit beingclosed and opened by the motor on release from each position before themotor operates the yretarding device.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of J. M. STARK, C. J. ROSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

